Bounty Hunter
by LouieVuitton
Summary: AU! Iroh died in the episode "The Chase" - He's seen things that would make grown men cower in fear just by thinking of it. He's killed people that would give kids nightmares. And of course, he's hunted for love. But now, its for a different reason... Money. ONE-SHOT Unless asked to be continued! Rated T for language and violence! No pairings currently! -Image from google-
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yo! Sorry about not uploading in like… months ._. But I was on vacation (Out of the state) Idk if this is going to be a one-shot or not…depends on if you guys want me to continue it. This is an AU (Still in the same world, just different story) So, Iroh died in the episode "The Chase" and the Gaang hasn't seen Zuko since! In fact… No one has ._. He just sort of…vanished… (P.S – The time span between 'The Chase" and when the Gaang reaches Ba Sing Se has expanded, giving more time of travel… I would say about 3-4 months expansion) OOC Zuko! **

**Rated T for language and violence**

**-:-:-:-**

The boy brushed dust off of his thin, brown pants. He cleaned the blood from of his swords with a single swipe on the back of his long trench coat. He smirked as a crowd of people gradually surrounded him and the fallen man. He crouched down and grabbed the back of the man's shirt, then stood again and started to drag the body towards a small wooden building, leaving a trail of blood across the dirt road. He stopped dragging the man when he reached the small porch of the wooden building. He slowly stepped inside and walked toward a counter, taking notice of the three small cells near the back wall. The boy pulled a paper out of his pocket and slammed it on the wooden counter. The guard behind the table glanced up and noticed the body near the doorway, then the wanted poster. His eyes widened as he took notice of the boy's dark smirk.

**-:-:-:-**

"So you're a bounty hunter, eh kid?"

The boy simply nodded before taking a sip of his drink. "Ain't you a little young to be drinkin' ?" The bartender asked, "If I can kill, I can drink." The boy replied shortly, setting his glass down. The bartender nodded, then went to serving some partially drunk men. The boy, being sixteen, had seen many things. Some of which even grown men would cower in fear from even thinking of. His name – Zuko, banished prince of the Fire Nation, enemy to the Earth Kingdom, and newly acquired occupation - bounty hunting. He was on his way to Ba Sing Se, a place that his Uncle had always talked about going to during there traveling time. Where was his Uncle now you ask? Probably a better place than this Hell Hole here on Earth. If you asked Zuko, he would probably say that his Uncle personally left him to suffer while he was having the time of his life in the Spirit World. He was traveling by pirate ship for about a month until he was thrown overboard for killing a few of the crew members. Since then, he was stopping every once in a while in a town to turn in some bounties and collect the money. Luckily for him, he only gained one new scar since the past two months. The pink, scarred flesh that was ripped into by a jagged sword had run from his right shoulder down to his wrist. The bastard that did it was one of the larger bounty's, Xié é Cha, wanted dead for murder, rape, and of course, burglary. He had collected quite a sum of money for the bastard, luckily enough to pay off the money he owed to the town's doctor. But right now, he was sitting in a tavern full of wanted men, and men that probably wanted to kill him. He quickly finished his drink and paid the bartender. He stood up from his stool and started to walk toward the door. The boy ducked under a fist and before you could even stop the fight, blood stained the wooden floors and painted Zuko's body, making his dark green tunic, red. "You want to try that again?" The ex-prince asked as he twisted the sword that was shoved through the drunken man's stomach. The man howled in pain as he sank to his knees making the sword slowly slip out of his body. Zuko wiped his sword clean of the fresh blood and turned his heel, once again walking to the doors.

**-:-:-:-**

Finally, he made his way into the city walls. He has reached Ba Sing Se in about a weeks time from the town. In about an hour since he had entered the large city, he was walking through the lower ring, looking for an at least decent place to eat. He may be a homicidal bounty hunting firebender, but technically he was still a prince. "_I'm really starting to think I should just sneak into the upper level and steal from one of those rich snobs." _He thought, snorting from the irony of the situation. He made his way towards the wall that separated the middle level from the lower level. He took his time, looking around to see old men sitting on the dirt sidewalks chatting, pregnant women trying to get there youngest children to quiet down, and all the stalls that were being run. Zuko eventually reached the wall and tried to find a cracked stone anywhere. Fortunately for him, he found some and he slowly started to make his way up the wall. The firebender reached for the ledge and pulled himself on top of the wall. He huffed out a breath of air and cracked his back. Zuko took a look around to see some more decent places below him, not as poor and dirty as the lower ring was. "Hey! What are you doing up here?" He heard a yell. "_Oh shit. I didn't expect them to find me so soon. Guess I got to escape now." _He started to run along the wall, guards chasing him and trying to block his way with pillars of earth. Fortunately, his months of fighting barbaric men and running from Earth Kingdom soldiers that recognized him had paid off. He grinned to himself, enjoying the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he ran from the guards. Suddenly, a gust of air had knocked our favorite banished prince off the wall and on to the unforgiving ground below. Zuko hitched a breath as his back connected with the hard dirt, groaning in pain as he tried to get up. He hissed in pain as he put pressure on his arm, trying to lift himself from the ground. "_Fuck… Must have dislocated my shoulder when I hit the ground… Who the hell could knock me off this fucking wall?" _He slowly stood up, grabbing his shoulder when he was fully standing. He raised the wrist of his left arm in front of his torso. "_This is going to hurt like a bitch…"_ He thought before you pushed his shoulder back in place. He grunted in pain but as soon as it came, it went. "Who are you?" A sudden voice came into ear shot and he turned his head toward the new arrival. Orange clothes filled his vision. The person's eyes widened, "Zuko?"

**-:-:-:-**

"What are you doing in Ba Sing Se? And what are you doing here with Aang? Aang what is he doing here with you?" The Water Tribe boy screeched, looking back and forth from their guest, who had taken a comfy seat on the couch with his feet up on the table, and the young Avatar. Aang rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well, you see Sokka… Zuko isn't after us anymore. I found his running from some guards along the Middle Ring's wall." Aang explained. "How do you know he isn't lying? I mean… He did chase us across the world for a year, why stop now?" Sokka questioned. "I'm right here you know, Water Tribe." Zuko said, "If you don't mind me, I'll be raiding your food while you sit here wondering why I haven't killed you yet." He stood up and started to walk toward the kitchen. "Oh no you don't! You come inside OUR house, an enemy to us! And now you're going to eat our food?" Sokka protested, blocking the doorway into the kitchen. "Seems about right." The firebender smirked, pushing Sokka out the way. Before he could get any further into the kitchen, the front door slid open, revealing two girls. The first one, having chocolate tan skin, blue eyes like the ocean, and dark hair, and the second one, being shorter than the first, having pale skin, and murky white eyes, following with dark black hair. "I knew someone else what in here!" The shorter one yelled with pride. "What the hell is he doing here?" The waterbender shouted. "Stealing your food and taking comfort in your house." Zuko stated bluntly. She glared at him and uncapped her flask, pulling out water. "Wait Katara! Don't attack him!" Aang said to her before any damage was done. Toph had already plopped herself on the couch and started to pick her toes, completely ignoring the house guest. Zuko was raiding the fridge while Sokka was trying to pull him away – failing terribly, and Aang had tried to explain the situation to Katara.

Keyword, -Tried-

**-:-:-:-**

"Are you joking Aang? You let our enemy in the house and you don't even act a tiny bit suspicious of him?" Katara screeched, trying to comprehend the ridiculous situation. "But Katara! He's not our enemy anymore! He could have killed all of us by now but he hasn't! The only thing he's done is eat all of Sokka's food!" The young Avatar tried to reason. Unfortunately, it was no use to her, for she had already brought up all the wrong things that he has done at least ten times in their conversation. Aang had quit trying to reason with Katara, playing with Momo instead. Katara walked up the firebender who was lazily laying on the couch, bandana over his eyes and tied around his head. She glared at him, "What are you _really_ doing here?" She hissed the question at him. He lifted the bandana from over his eyes and on to his forehead, staring at her. "Well, I was planning on stealing some food from the upper class snobs but that obviously didn't work out. Since we last saw each other I've been bounty hunting." He said shortly, closing his eyes. "So you were going to STEAL from people?" She shouted, "And you expect us to let you get away with that?" She grabbed the water flask at her hip. "Well, seeing how I didn't _do_ anything, you can't really punish me for anything." Zuko shrugged. "Besides, I got my meal off of you guys." He smirked as he patted his now full stomach. Katara glared at him then sat at a chair across the table. Mere minutes later and the banished prince was already sleeping. "_I guess a short nap wouldn't hurt, I just hope that the banshee doesn't drown me in my sleep." _He thought before he fell asleep. "_Who the hell does he think he is? Taking comfort in OUR home? Eating all of OUR food? Bastard…" _ Katara venomously thought, glaring at Zuko's sleeping figure. Minute after minute, her glares were getting more intense and Zuko could practically feel it even in his sleep.

**-:-:-:-**

"Well, I guess I'll be going now." The banished prince announced before walking through the front door. "Where do you think your going?" Katara asked angrily, grabbing his collar and dragging him back into the house. He glared at her, daring her to do it again. "Not sure, probably back down into the lower level. Maybe I'll steal a few coins from some richies up here before I head back." Zuko shrugged. "Oh? And now were back to the stealing case huh?"

"Why are you annoying me about stealing?"

"Because it's wrong! And besides, if you're going to steal then don't tell someone that!"

"Oh, so suddenly stealing is wrong yet your telling me how to do it? Nice logic there_ Princess_" Zuko snorted. Katara gasped, "Did…Did you just call me _PRINCESS?_" She yelled. The two bickered for a good ten minutes, entertaining the small audience. "Do you think they'll stop soon?" Aang asked nervously, "Oh chill out Twinkletoes, I bet Sugar Queen is just PMSing and she needed someone to take it out on." Toph shrugged as she watched the fight sightlessly. "You think this is going to get physical?" Sokka asked her, "If it were my choice, yes. But since Twinkletoes is here, probably not. Or at least not very far in a fight for any serious damage." Sokka nodded at her explanation, watching the argument between the two benders, amused.

**-:-:-:- **

"Okay! This time I'm seriously planning on leaving if the banshee doesn't keep me here." Zuko announced. He walked out the door without any other goodbyes. He looked over his shoulder and smirked, "_Maybe… Just maybe I might come back to these idiots. On purpose this time."_

**-:-:-:-**

**A/N: Okay! Welp, there you have it! "Bounty Hunter" is finished (Unless you guys don't want it to be finished, then I'll continue it) I hope you enjoyed the story! I'm going to be updating my other two stories so check out those! Remember to review, favorite, and follow me! Oh, and I eat flames for breakfast so… I don't really care if you flame me . Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**:A/N: Yo! Herd u like the story… So I gave you some story over the story so you can read more story (Makes sense right?) – Seriously though! Thank you for the reviews – Guest Uno and Guest Dos (Whoever you guys are, you deserve a pat on the back), EnlightenedElementalWarrior, ArrayePL, engineergirl86, and Jerk101 (You should get a better name xD Your too sweet). You guys told me I should continue so, here I am ._. Thank you Jerk101 for the tips and the idea of writing Zuko's past! That's what this chapter is all about so… I hope you guys enjoy chapter 2 of Bounty Hunter! I will tell you what the numbers mean at the end of the chapter! (Yes they mean something!)**

**Rated T for language and violence**

**Disclaimer (Forgot to do this) – Don't own, so don't sue**

**-:-:-:-**

___Three Months Ago_

"_No!"_ _The four elements clashed, creating a large explosion where the girl was. When the smoke cleared, she was already gone. The boy dropped to his knees, praying to Agni, the Fire Spirit, to keep his uncle alive. "Don't die… Please don't die… Your all I have left…" He choked out, barely holding back tears. "Zuko, I can heal him." A girl said, but he didn't move. His clenched fists rested over the old man's heart and his head was bowed, saying silent prayers. His heart stopped, their eyes widened. "No… NO! Don't die! You fucking old bastard… Don't die… Please. Please don't die…" Tears ran down his cheeks and the group behind him stood silent, sorrow filling their eyes. "You were all I have left… Now I'm alone… I'm completely… Alone…"_

**-:-:-:-**

The firebender gathered some wood from the broken down buildings and surrounded his deceased uncle's body with the broken planks. When he was finished, he stepped back and took a deep breath. He lit the wood on fire and watched for a few seconds before closing his eyes and lowering his head. He wouldn't cry anymore, he knew that his Uncle wouldn't want him to feel guilty about his death. Minutes later, he stared at the pile of ashes that was once his Uncle's body with cold, empty, golden eyes. He gathered the ashes and put them in a small pouch. Zuko walked to the edge of the abandoned town and looked back once before starting his new journey.

**-:-:-:-**

"What the hell do you mean the docks are closed?" The older man questioned the other man angrily. "I meant what I said you old coot! The docks are closed!" He replied angrily. Zuko walked down the boardwalks, stopping to see what the argument was about. "Listen old man, you can't put your boat here!" The second man shouted, "Who says so? Do you know who I am?" The two men argued until finally, the older one had walked away angrily. Zuko stopped the man when he passed by. "What was that about?" He asked the older man who was glaring angrily at him. "This bastard won't let the Black Dog's crew in his port! He said he doesn't know who we are!" Of course the Black Dog's crew was infamous for their pirating, it was pretty hard to not know them especially if you lived near the sea. "Black Dogs? You're a pirate?" He asked, his usual empty eyes were wide and slightly nervous. "Sure am! You look like a pretty tough kid. I'm pretty sure I can get our Cap'n to let ye' on board." He smirked, taking note of Zuko's appearance (1).

**-:-:-:-**

"Welcome aboard the Dark Wolf! Yer' officially a part of our crew!" The captain, Kurai, had exclaimed, giving a slightly toothless grin. "We need to get ye' out of those Dirt Kingdom's rags! Make ye' look like a real sea man!" Kurai said, giving Zuko a pat on the shoulder. About a half an hour later, Zuko looked like an official pirate. To cover his scar, he had a red bandana wrapped around his head. He wore large black pants with slight rips in them that were tucked into his boots, he had a white tunic with a dark brown vest over it. And to hold his slightly large pants up, he wore a dark leather belt that was slightly slanted on his right side. Zuko grinned at his appearance, "_I look nothing like I did before." _He thought. Finally, the captain walked up to him and handed him a sword. The sword was a katana (2) with a black and red sheath. He slowly pulled the sword out to see that it had an almost clear blade. "That sword right here is one of our finer ones. I be givin' it to ye' because I have a good feeling about ye'. Your gonna be makin' a fine pirate, boy." Kurai gave a Zuko a hard slap on the back and grinned. "That sword be made of obsidian-crystals, a rare stone. Name of it be Shomei Kaminari (3). Ye' better take good care of it." He said before walking away. "The Cap'n must be havin' a good feelin' about ye' to give you that sword." One of the crew mates, Tokubetsu, had said to him soon after the captain gave him the sword. He didn't reply, he only stared at the sword, strangely feeling some sort of connection towards it (4).

**-:-:-:-**

_Three Weeks After Joining the Crew_

"You bastard!"

"What the hell did ye' do?"

"We trusted ye'!"

Everything had happened so fast for Zuko. Before these barbaric pirates had started attacking him and spitting curses at him for killing a crewmate, it all started with an argument.

**-:-:-:-**

"_Oi! Scar face! Get yer' ass over he' and put up the sails!" _

"_That's not my name. And I ain't coming over there till' ye' get it right." _

"_Oh I'm sorry, am I not standing up to ye' needs, Princess? _(5)_" The pirate snickered as he walked closer to Zuko. "I never said that, I just told you to say my name and I'll get it done." Zuko said, growling as the pirate walked closer to him. The pirate stepped up and pushed him, causing him to take a few steps back to avoid falling. "You want to try that again, ye' fuckin' milk maid?" The firebender hissed. Over the last three weeks that he was on the ship, he had definitely learned some new insults. "Why, I think I will." The pirate smirked before charging at Zuko. Zuko dodged his punch and kicked him in the back, making him fall to the ground. The pirate growled as he got up and reached for his sword. Zuko saw his hand and quickly tackled him, making both of them fall to the ground. They wrestled for a bit, causing more crewmates to gather around and cheer for who they wanted to win the brawl (6). The pirate reached for his sword again and this time, successfully unsheathed it, knocking Zuko off of him in the process. Zuko's eyes widened and before he knew it, he was holding Shomei Kaminari and shoving it into the pirate's stomach. The pirate's sword dropped and he fell to the ground once again from his almost standing position, blood pooling around him. The crewmates surrounding them suddenly fell quiet. Soon, they all started to attack him and shout curses at him. And well… that's where it leaves us now. _

**-:-:-:-**

The pirates had eventually managed to tie him to the mast and they waited until the captain decided what to do with him. "Killin' a crewmate eh?" Kurai glared. Zuko looked to the ground, but he still felt the captains glare. "Self defense Cap'n." He shortly reasoned. The captain's glare lightened but was still there, "We'll throw him off the ship once we get te' land. Get 'is sword for me." One of the pirates quickly handed Kurai the clear sword. For the next two days, Zuko stayed tied to the mast without any food or water given to him. Finally, they reached land and they threw him off the ship along with his sword (7). Zuko got up from the wooden docks and dusted himself off. He put the sword in his belt and started to walk around the town he was dropped off in. '_Well… At least they let me have Shomei Kaminari.' _

**-:-:-:-**

Zuko walked down the dirt road that led to the next small town. He was still in the pants he wore when he was on the ship, however he had stolen some clothes from an old man that was drying clothes, presumably running a shop. He wore a dark green tunic with a dark, black trench coat over it that stopped at the back of his knees. He now wore his bandana around his neck when none, or very few people were around. However if he were in a larger town with crowds and a larger population, he would wear it around his eye to keep his identity at least a little bit less obvious (8).

He soon approached a small group that was standing at the side of the dirt road. Two large men, both wielding swords, seemed to be shouting at two younger looking boys, most likely in their early teens. As he got closer, he heard the shouting more clearly and subconsciously rested his left hand on the sheath of the sword. "You little shit! We know you took our money! Give it back now and you won't get hurt!"

"We didn't take your money!"

"You lying little bitch!" The older man cocked his fist back and was ready to throw a punch when Zuko stepped in, "Hey! What's the problem here?" He asked as if he were oblivious to the situation. "Get lost stranger! Were just taking care of some business." The other man growled. "If your business is picking on children, your boss must be a little bitch." Zuko smirked. "What did you say? We'll tear you open!" The two men now turned fully away from the kids and faced him. Zuko looked at the two young boys and gave a slight nod, then glanced down the road. The two boys got the message and as soon at the men started walking towards Zuko, the sprinted down the road and back to the town they came from. "That's it! First you insult our boss and now you lose our money! You're going to die, kid!" The man yelled. The two of them charged at Zuko, swords high in the air. The firebender dodged the first man and tripped him. He blocked the other man's sword with his own, having one hand on the hilt and the other hand on the back of the blade. Zuko kicked the man in the chest, sending him stumbling back, then slashed his sword through his chest. While the man fell to the ground bleeding, the other bandit had gotten up and charged at Zuko, hoping to catch him from behind. The firebender quickly spun around and stabbed his sword through the man's shoulder. He also fell to the ground bleeding. Zuko wiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it, then continued to walk down the road as if nothing happened.

**-:-:-:-**

"Hey you! You're the one that helped us from those bandits!" He suddenly stopped and turned to the voice. The two boys he had helped earlier ran down the busy market place until they stopped in front of him. "Thank you mister! I was afraid we wouldn't come home for dinner if you wasn't for you!" One of the boys bowed to him. "No problem." He shrugged, then turned heel and started to walk again. "Wait! Where are you going?" The boy had quickly asked. "Not sure."

"Well, you could stay at our house for dinner!" The boy offered. Zuko hesitated, remembering what happened last time. Finally, he gave a slight nod and followed the boys. "I'm Hogo, and my brother here is Kogeki." He introduced. Zuko only nodded and shortly responded "Kasai."

**-:-:-:-**

Zuko had always known the Fire Nation was bad deep down. When he was traveling through the Earth Kingdom he had seen broken families that had lost husbands and sons to the war, he had seen scars and burns that marked young children, and he had seen homes that were once peaceful memories, burned to the ground. However, even after seeing this, he wasn't completely on the Avatar's side, he just wasn't on Ozai's side. Zuko knew that with Ozai and Azula on the throne, the world would still wreak with chaos and violence. Ozai and Azula controlled the people of the Fire Nation with fear and panic. If they wanted someone to join the military, the person would, no questions asked. If the person refused and disobeyed the Fire Lord… Death. The people would be forced into the army with no time to say goodbye to their family and friends. The Earth Kingdom just didn't realize that they were killing innocent people that were put on the front lines without second thought. They didn't realize that they were killing husbands, fathers, _sons_. And just imagine… To be forced in the army without being able to even say _goodbye_ to your children, die with people thinking you were a monster, and your family would never know. In order for Ozai to keep the people under his control, he had to keep them in constant fear. If the armies had sent letters to the families, reporting the deaths, the people would start to rebel under Ozai. Children would grow up without the love of a father, wives would be widowed and left to grow old and die _alone_, and families torn apart due to the war, on both sides. Zuko wasn't completely on the Avatar's side because in order for there to be peace and balance in the world, people had to die. If people have to die in order to make peace, then it isn't peace at all in his opinion. He was with the nations, but against Ozai.

**-:-:-:-**

**1 – The pirate doesn't recognize Zuko. I mean… pirates live on the sea right? I doubt they stop on land and take glance to every wanted poster they see! **

**2 – Yes, I do realize that a katana is an odd weapon for a pirate but they stole it. Normally pirates use cutlasses, broadswords (I think) etc. But Zuko gets an awesome katana because he's special c:**

**3 – Shomei Kaminari: Lightning Thunder in Japanese (All the names are Japanese)**

**4 – No! This is not going to be some Bleach rip off… (That would be pretty awesome though) I just said that Zuko had a special connection towards it because of *****Spoiler spoiler spoiler*****! That's why he uses it so well (Because he has a special connection towards it) As far as my knowledge goes, he is a master at using Dao Swords. I'm not sure if he mastered any other swords.**

**5 – No, the pirates don't know Zuko's identity. He just called him "Princess" because of the stuck up way Zuko acts. **

**6 – Yes… The crew doesn't break up the fight. I do realize the crew is REALLY different from an actual pirate crew (Not including One Piece…) but hey! Don't judge!**

**7 – Why does the captain let Zuko keep the sword? Like I said for (6), the pirate crew is unusual. In their opinion, a man's weapon will stay his weapon. **

**8 – "Little less obvious." Don't you think a guy walking around in a black trench coat with a freaking bandana covering half his face is a bit of an attention grabber? **

**A/N – Hey! Thought I would go back to the story? Nope! Cliff hanger :D I don't actually know if that stuff is true about the Fire Nation military but… it sounds like it could fit! I mean, think about it. People wouldn't bow down willingly to a psychotic homicidal, fire-breathing maniac that wants to burn down the world! (Unless their crazy as well.) Ozai has to keep them at the thought of "If I don't do this I will die" kind of thing. So, the next chapter is going to be out soon (Sorry this one took so long! I forgot to save it so I had to rewrite it -.-*) So! Remember to favorite, follow, and of course, REVIEW! Cya! **


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